Pages

Saturday, January 31, 2009

This last week put a screeching halt to my workouts. We had a major snowstorm on Tuesday/Wednesday and then I caught my 4th cold since September at the end of the week. Needless to say, I only got in one workout since Wednesday.

Run = 75.37 miles. I really thought I was going to hit 100 this month.

Swim = 0 meters. I had my first swim of the year scheduled for today. With the headcold I have, that's not going to happen.

Bike = 5.13 miles. That's a whopping 30 minutes of riding I did this month. I had another 20 minute ride scheduled this month but I didn't get to it.

Other = 6 hours. That's a whole lot of other stuff. I did weights and stretching and just this week put in some rowing. Coach has me do a lot of cross training activities that are running for a while then doing a couple exercises, followed by more running, etc. Those exercises are not included in this count.

I'm hoping in February to do all my workouts and finally get my running miles over 100. And hopefully have a few more swims.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Like Marit and Lindsay, I too participated on the crew team in college. Unlike the two of them (I think) I didn't row. I was a coxswain. That does not mean I sat in the boat and yelled at the rowers. I steered the boat and encouraged my athletes and made sure we won our races. And we did. It was also important for me to know how to row. Often times, the coxswain was the one doing the coaching.

To learn how to row my coaches put me on an erg machine and taught me the basics.

Yesterday I put those to good use. Coach is really trying find different ways to develop my muscles and become a better runner without getting me injured. I totally appreciate that. The workout she gave me was 10 minutes of warm-up on the rowing machine followed by 5 X (3 core exercises + 5 minutes of rowing). (Could I be more of an engineer when I write a word problem like that?)

Well, that 10 minutes just wasn't going to happen. Instead I did 6 X 5 minutes with 3 exercises in between each 5 minute segment. Let's just say this...IT WAS HARD! By the end my arms were screaming and I think my lats might have lit fire.

My favorite part of rowing at the gym was watching the other people row. I helped a mother and daughter on their form because they had NO idea what they were doing. Then this little woman sat down right next to me and I thought she knew what she was doing because why else would she sit right beside me when there were 4 other ergs open. Seriously, it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. When she came forward on the slide, she ducked her head way down and put her chest on her knees. Then she would come all the way back and bring the handle up to her face. Dude, it had to be hurting her back. It was hurting mine just watching her. I think they need to conduct classes and have sign-offs to make sure people know how to correctly row and so they don't hurt themselves on the equipment.

Next time you're at the gym you should really give rowing a try. Here's how to do it:

Strap your feet in so that the straps are across the top of the feet closer to your toes than the middle of your feet. Grab the handle with your hands in the middle of each side. Sit up straight with your knees bent and your seat all the way to the top of your slide (by your feet). Push back until your legs are straight, your torso is still upright, and your arms are now straight with handle in hand. Then bend your arms and bring the handle into your check right around the bottom of your rib cage (more like solar plexus area). Simultaneously, rock back so your body is a little less than 45 degrees but you still have erect posture (he he!). Then sit up 90 degrees. Release your arms out, bend your knees and move up your slide to your feet. Of course, this is done a lot more quickly than what I just wrote. The most important part is to let your legs and back do the work, not your arms. And also importantly, keep good posture!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Every runner I know would consider themselves pretty Type A. And any Type A person probably has a tendancy to be a little OCD with a splash of superstition. I, of course, fall into all three categories.

Type A: I'm an engineer. 'Nuff said.OCD: Yes, I have rituals. I count constantly. When I run I could with every other left step. I count to 50 and start over. I count to go to sleep. I count to wash my face. I count constantly.Superstitious: Not only do I love my Buckeyes, I'm superstitious about it. I ALWAYS wear the same thing for every football game. And, if I happen to be not watching the game and they're doing well, I'll continue to not watch the game. In fact, I am the reason why the Buckeyes lost to Texas. I wasn't watching the game except I did watch the measurement of that crucial 4th down at the end of the game. It's my fault. Sorry.

I want to know...what category(ies) do you fall into and what makes you Type A, OCD, and/or Superstitious?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

If you're my friend on Facebook then you've read all these, but there are quite a few of you out there who haven't read these.

And if you're not my friend on Facebook, what are you waiting on? Be my friend!!

1. I have run 11 marathons and currently training for my 12th.2. I have a tattoo to prove it. I got it to celebrate my 10th marathon.

3. I have done two half Ironmans.4. I really want to do a full Ironman, but...5. I hate to bike.6. I love to swim, though.7. I've been married to Dave for 6+ years.8. I have been together with Dave for 9+ years.9. I have known Dave for 12+ years.10. I have a horrible phobia of bridges, yet...11. I have crossed many giant bridges include Manhattan, Sunshine Bridge in Tampa, and Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I might have cried crossing all of those. And I might not have even sat in my seat while crossing the Bay Bridge.

12. I'm hoping to never cross the Golden Gate Bridge, although I'd like to see it.13. I live in the same town I grew up in.14. But I dream of living in New York City or Italy.15. I honestly never want to have kids, but probably will someday because Dave wants one.16. I have my degree in industrial engineering.17. I don't work as an engineer anymore.18. I own my own business.19. I have suffered with acne longer than I haven't had acne.20. At 30 I'm still on acne medicine.21. I wore glasses for 15 years.22. But I corrected that when I had Lasik eye surgery 5 years ago.23. It was the best money I've ever spent.24. I check my e-mail like a billion times a day.25. And I'm hoping to receive more e-mails because of this list.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

You know, if I liked to be cold and enjoyed winter sports this winter would be awesome. But to a runner....THIS. WINTER. SUCKS.

I still cannot believe it's only January. We've had what seems like a ton of snow and it's been unbelievably cold for the majority of the month. And it's not over yet. Over the next 24 hours we are expected another 8-12 inches of snow. Did you read that? A foot of snow!

I work 18 miles from home. This morning it took me 55 minutes to get to work at 9:00am. This afternoon it took me 2 hours 15 minutes to get h0me starting at 5:15pm. I'm really hoping for a snow day tomoroow.

The thing that bothers me is that this weather is wreaking havoc on my training. Generally I enjoy running in the snow. I love knowing that I am a hard-core runner. That I'm the only one out there training while others are getting chubbing inside. But this year it hasn't just been the snow. The temperatures are just too cold for me.

Again this week I moved my long run inside as the temperature was below 20 degrees on both Sunday and Monday. The first half of my run was 90 minutes (10 miles) of rolling hills on the treadmill. After 10 minutes warming up and 5 minutes building into zone 2, I had to hold my heart rate in zone 2 and go through this routine 3 times:

Monday, January 26, 2009

Next Tuesday my baby sister will have her 4th and final child (she's having her tubes tied during her C-section). And although I've ribbed my sister a lot about her pregnancies and the fact she can almost field a whole basketball team, a part of me is kind of sad that this is the last child she will have.

While running on my parents' treadmill today I found a treasure. And then in the same frame, I found some more treasures. Seriously, are these not the cutest pictures ever?

This was the picture in the frame that I "borrowed" from my parents' basement. The back of the picture says that Amy is 1 here and I am 4.

When I opened up the frame to scan the first picture I found even more pictures in there. This one has Amy at 6 months and me almost 4.

I don't know how old I am here, but could I look more like a boy wearing a dress?

Nope, I was wrong. I think here I am totally sporting boy in a pink shirt.

Then finally I found the most beautiful picture of my mom. This is her high school graduation picture. Doesn't she look like Edie Sedgwick?

I might have to go back another day and raid the basement to see what other treasures I can find.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

When I was sponsored by Team Stayput I tried relentlessly to get my name in the newspapers to no avail. For each mention I would have gotten, I could have received payment from my sponsor which really would have helped defer the costs of my races.

Now that I own my own business I feel like I'm trying once again to get my name out there. While at the Columbus Bride Show a woman approached me asking if me and my business wanted to be on a local TV show to promote VIP Photo Booths. After several weeks of stirring over this proposition, Dave and I finally decided to go forward with this offer.

On Friday we will tape a segment with "Daytime Columbus" to be aired the first week in February. Don't worry, I'll let you all know when it's going to be on so you can set your DVRs. I'm so nervous I'm going to look like a total boob, but I also know this will be very good for the business.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

I'm pretty sure that Coach's middle name is "Control." Almost all workouts that she gives me that contain pickups or tempo parts of them involve staying inside a controlled heart rate.

Yesterday's workout involved three sets of pickups at 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 1 minute 30 seconds each with equal rest. The catch was I could not go above zone 2 for any of the intervals. Here's the thing...I have a really high heart rate to begin with. Walking pretty much puts me close to zone 2. So to do pickups only in zone 2 was going to test me more mentally than physically.

Mostly, I hit the average heart rates right on. I thought it was interesting that my heart rate was higher on the 30 seconds off than on, but I think that's because my heart rate was still on the way up and I couldn't recover fast enough.

Today I had another one of these "control" workouts. This one was assigned to the treadmill. :( After a 1-1/2 mile warm-up I was to do three core exercises then hop on the treadmill for a half mile at half marathon pace (7:38) but not go above zone 3. I had to do this exercise/running intervals five times.

Although I probably wasn't going as fast I should have been, it certainly felt faster than those paces outside and I was able to maintain the heart rates. Coach was quite impressed, as was I, and thinks we should retest the zones to see if I'm gaining fitness.

I've had a pretty good week of running. A 14 miler is on the schedule tomorrow. The race is in three weeks. I'm feeling a little more confident that good things are coming.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I'm not what you might call a "girly girl". I don't dress up, I dig the sports, and I really hate to carry a purse. Why can't chicks carry a wallet in their back pocket like dudes? I've compromised and got a sling back which is totally unisex. Although, Dave said he would never carry one. I think he's just a Midwesterner and dudes carrying a bag in the Midwest is, well, you know.

So, here is what I carry in my bag:

Overland Sling Bag--Like I said, totally unisex and great to wear.

iPhone--Totally awesome and revolutionizing my life and business.

Brio gift card--I've had it since September 2008.

Notepad--I use this to write down messages or important things I need to remember.

Wallet--There's like a zillion credit cards in there because I have one for my photography business, my photo booth business, and my personal one.

Pen--Comes in really handy.

Business card case--I've been trying to hand out more business cards and network, network, network.

Jack's Aquarium Fish Of The Month Club Card--I've already told you about my fish.

What do you call these? I got this with my hot chocolate on inauguration day and decided to keep it because (a) it's cool and (b) instead of getting a new one each time and creating more waste, I'll just reuse the one I have.

I want to know, what's in your bag? It could be in your purse or your gym bag, but here's what I want you to do. Empty your bag. Take a picture of it. Put that picture on your blog and label what the things are. Make sure to leave a comment letting me know if you posted it on your blog. If you don't have a blog, send me an e-mail with the picture and the list so I can post it on Thursday Thoughts next week. My e-mail can be found on my profile page.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Last week we got hit with major snowstorm and then it turned cold. Really cold. The high on Friday reached all of 5 degrees above zero. This summer it warmed up to maybe 20 and tidY I saw the temperature did not reach 20 which means no snow is melting and it still feels too cold to run outside.

So Coach put together two runs in one day to equal 12 miles. The first 8 miles involved so short 20 second pickups and 3 x 8 minutes with 5 minutes of it in high zone 2 and the last 3 minutes in zone 3. The second run was the last 4 miles was steady in zones 1 and 2.

The run went pretty well especially after I discovered that using a fan pointed right at my face helped to keep my heart rate down while running a decent pace. By the end, though my back was throbbing and my quads were starting to burn.

Monday, January 19, 2009

As I rapidly approach my 31st birthday, I continue to get the best compliment ever...I continue to hear that I look so young. YESSSSS!!! Thank goodness I'm blessed with good genes.

And those good genes include good hair. :)

Now granted, I'm not in the love with the haircut, but I do have good natural hair color, my hair grows REALLY fast, and I rarely have split ends or dead hair. I can go a good three to four months without a haircut even with all the activities that could do damage to my hair.

Where the hell am I going with this?!

Oh yeah, Goody Stayput products. Last year I had the privilege of being a sponsored athlete by Goody Stayput. Goody makes these genius products that are specifically made for athletes so that ponytails and whatnot stay in place during activity. They work. I have worn them in three marathons and a half Ironman without my hair moving an inch. They don't rip up my hair. The products are well made too. Sure, they stretch but I've only had one hair tie break. My favorite products are the hair ties and the headband elastics (you know, like the soccer players wear).

Stop ruining your hair, ladies. Goody Stayput works.

My tip for the day....to avoid split-ins while running, braid your ponytail or if your ponytail is too short to braid, put another rubberband at the bottom of it to act like a braid. It saves your hair from split ends. :)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Shelby and Jared called me last week when it began snowing and asked me to take them sled riding. I told them I would take them this weekend. Those kids don't forget anything. They called again today and I couldn't resist. The three of us headed over to the golf course and had a great time. We had races; I pushed them down the hill (and fell in the process); we found a snow ramp, which Jared loved. We were only out there 45 minutes and it was perfect.

Since Amy's too pregnant to take them sledding, I made sure to get a picture of the two of them.

Friday, January 16, 2009

It's been well documented on this blog that I am a competitor through and through. And this isn't just in the athletic arena. I'm competitive with everything. While this has served me well in athletics and school, it certainly has not been good with many of other things.

Now I'm really struggling with the competitor within.

VIP Photo Booths is not the only photo booth company in town. Based on what I saw at the bride show, there are five photo booth companies in Columbus. The competitor in me wants to be the biggest, baddest, awesomest, most totally sought after company, but there's another one in town which was the first and had a built-in clientele when they started. The competitor in me wants to crush that company, but there's one problem. Dave and I are acquaintances of the owner. She was our wedding photographer. And after the bridal show she sent me a message asking if she could refer business to me and vice versa. The competitor in me thought that sounded weird and 'heck no'; the business person in me thinks that maybe that's a good idea. The competitor in me wants to shout from the rooftops that our business kicks a$$. The shy girl in me is struggling just to make phone calls.

Owning a business is something I've always wanted to do, but now I'm struggling with my own demons to make it the business and make me the business person I really want it and me to be.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Dave was headed out to the grocery store and asked me if I needed anything. Yes, I did. Feminine supplies. :)

I made him a list of what he needed and was as specific as possible. I gave him brands and types and absorbency and any information I thought would be needed.

He told me that he stared at the aisle so long a woman actually came up and asked him if he needed help. Seriously, doesn't that make you smirk? She helped him and he came home with my items.

And...

They're all wrong. The tampons were the right brand but wrong absorbency. The pads, well, I think I'm going to be wearing diapers. I've already replaced the tampons with the corrects ones with a trip to the grocery store today and tomorrow, if the snow is mostly removed from the roads, I'll head back out to the supermarket and replace the pads. :)

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Yesterday a friend of mine posted on her Facebook page that it was 80 degrees and she was hating it. Needless to say, I didn't have anything nice to say about that. The weather around here has just sucked. Last week we had days of rain, ice, and snow.

Sunday I was supposed to have an hour and forty minute run but everything was ice so I decided to postpone. Yesterday we had a fresh blanket of snow so I decided to give the run a try. The first hour of the run was supposed to be zones 1 and 2. This was a struggle. Working against the snow made my heart rate accelerate and slowed my pace. From 1:00 to 1:30 I got to run in zone 3 and I was mildly surprised at my pace. My overall average pace during that time was only 8:53 but usually when I looked at my watch it was in the 8:30s and twice I saw it under 8:00 while still in zone 3. For this point in my training and how sick I've been, this was a really good run.

Today I'm extremely sore. Running is aerobic but running in snow is like doing high knee drills for 10 miles.

This week's temperatures are supposed to be close to zero, so most of the running action is going to take place inside.

Monday, January 12, 2009

It's been said that to be a runner all you need is a pair of shoes. And while that may have been the case, and really still should be, there's a lot more technical stuff now that may or may not be necessary.

Well, here's the short answer. Only Saucony and New Balance make shoes specifically for women. All the other shoe companies make smaller versions of their men's shoes. Women have different issues than men. We have wider hips, which means our feet roll differently. And we have smaller heels and narrower feet. Personally I wear a AA width, which you just can't find in the other shoes. They're pretty long wearing. I can easily get between 350-400 miles before I can feel it on my legs.

I love these shoes and I hope Saucony never stops making them. I don't even go to the store anymore to get fitted. I either take in my shoes and say I want the same thing, or I order it online (totally cheaper).

And when you do get a new pair of shoes, make sure you recycle your old ones. :)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

There are people who look good singing (Michael Buble) and there are people who look weird when they sing (Harry Connick, Jr. + John Mayer). There are people who look good when they run (Dave) and people who look really bad (me).

And now I'm going to show you where it all began. This is the front page of our local newspaper from when I was a senior in high school. Good grief!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

If you're following along you'll remember I set out to challenge myself to blog for a month. Well, today is day 31, so I guess technically, I've made it a month. But, I'm planning on continuing to blog and see how far I get.

Back to your regularly scheduled program....

I've always struggled with body image issues. When I was a kid I was tall (surprising, isn't it) and super-skinny. The girls at school used to call me "little Ethopian girl" and my mom called me "Olive Oyl". Needless to say, it wasn't funny then and it's not funny now. As my friends grew taller, I stayed the same height and started sprouting a little more outward. Don't get me wrong, I've never been overweight or fat, but I've certainly had to deal with how much weight is appropriate for a 5'1" frame.

Recently I was having a conversation with Coach regarding what is ideal racing weight. I told her I was around the 116-118 mark but I wanted to be between 105 and 110 for racing weight. She disagreed saying I was fine where I was.

Today I was at the gym doing my workout. I weighed in, per usual, before my workout--116.2. That's been my usual weight for a good year plus. After my elliptical routine I did a stretching routine right in front of a mirror. And you know what I noticed? I don't look like any of the women at the gym. Compared to them I look super-skinny, almost a little too skinny, but what I saw was that I look like a distance runner. My muscles are cut in the right areas and the areas that are supposed to be lean are very lean.

I think all women have body issues--even skinny ones. Today was the first day in a long time I looked in the mirror and liked me for me.

Friday, January 09, 2009

My friend Andrea is running Rock and Roll Arizona next weekend. Today I got a text from her. She basically said she was super sick of running. I text her back that I was too and I hadn't even started my training yet.

For four years Andrea and I did almost every long run together. No matter how crappy of a week I was having I always knew I had a long run with Andrea to look forward to and make the week a little better. Andrea recently moved to Denver and we've both been training by ourselves. I told her it's been hard to get motivated to go out in the cold all by myself.

Luckily Dave met me after work today and we were able to do most of our runs together. I hope Andrea finds a great running group to boost her motivation after her marathon next week.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Every other week Coach gives me cross-training workouts that involve running and doing body-weight exercises. To do these workouts I needed to find an indoor track, so I've been going to the Westerville Community Center. The indoor track is a carpeted small oval around the top of a bunch of basketball courts. Every other day the walking/running direction changes. No where does it state how many laps equals a mile.

Oh yeah...it costs me $4.50 each time I want to use the track.

Today it was snowing as I entered the community center. I went to the front desk to pay my fee and the smart-alec manager behind the desk says "why don't you just run outside?" I let him know that I usually do run outside but that my coach assigned me a run that required exercises every thirty seconds. Yeah, that quieted him. I get up to the track and start my workout. It's ten minutes of warm-up followed by 30 seconds of exercise, 30 seconds of jogging. Most of the exercises were running-related but I still looked kinda weird doing them. I would be jogging and then, BAM, I'd hit the floor and start doing mountain climbers. One guy stopped me and asked me what I was doing. I told him my coach was the devil (Hi Liz!). I told him I was a runner and these exercises were making me stronger. He told me he had had triple bypass, a heart attack, and had six stents. I told him it was a miracle he was alive and thank goodness he was there walking. It was good for him. He asked me who I ran for. I was like, "what?" He asked again, "what school did I run for?" I giggled. I told him I was much older than I looked; that I was 30. He he!

As I was approaching the end of my workout I went to consult my piece of paper I brought with me and it had been thrown away. I couldn't find it in the trash. I hope I finished the workout alright.

On paper these cross training workouts look so easily, but they are kicking my a$$! Although it's costing me a small fortune to go to the community center, in the end I know these experiences whether they be fun, tough, or personal are really going to make me better.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

I like to separate my personal goals and my running goals. Not that my running goals are not personal, but I just think they're different. I'm a much more goal-oriented and driven person when it comes to my running than when it comes to my everyday life. These are not resolutions. If they were resolutions, they would already be broken. Instead they're goals to work towards throughout the year.

Eat in unless invited out or spending cash

Read 14 books

Blog every day

Clean the house every week

Take more pictures for myself

I'm sure as the year develops I'll add more to my list. For now, this is a start. And it's going to require a lot of work. I hate to grocery shop. My house hasn't been fully cleaned since I had to get rid of my house keeper. With several jobs, I find it very hard to do anything like taking pictures only for myself. And for the blogging, well, I've almost done it for a full month. It's getting easier every day. :)

Monday, January 05, 2009

Well we survived "Bride Mania". And boy am I tired. This morning I didn't even hear Dave's alarm go off and I don't remember him getting up or leaving. Between being sick all of last week and being charming all weekend, I need another week off. Unfortunately, it was back to reality today as I was already subbing at the gym.

We far exceeded our expectations at the bride show. We ran a special there where we would take $100 if you would sign a contract and pay the deposit at the show. I really didn't have any expectations. Dave had set a verbal goal of 5 and a secret goal of 10. And....we matched that secret goal. I walked away with 10 signed contracts and I even had to turn three people away because their dates were already reserved. I really think there is more good to come too. Right now our first event isn't until May, but we're really hoping to pick something up before then. We have booked May-October. And there were plenty of dates in 2010 that people inquired about.

To sum it up, I don't have to go looking for a full-time job. And that, that makes me very happy.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Saturday, January 03, 2009

I'm keeping it real here. I studied engineering because, and how do I put this nicely, my boyfriends had not been the sharpest pencils in the box. They weren't dumb, but I knew I was going to have to be the bread winner. And then I married Dave and he was smarter than me and I knew everything was going to be okay. We were smart about decisions we made and everything seemed A-OK. Until I quit my job. And not that we're not paying our bills, but we've certainly buckling down on everything. Having a business and a job where you're not getting a regular pay check and some months are huge and others pull in nothing has been tough to plan and tough to manage. So, going into the bridal show this weekend I had already decided that if things didn't go well I would begin looking for a full-time job again. I must as I HATED it, it was reality.

After day 1 of could easily be called Bride-a-Palooza, we've done pretty good. We heard great things about our photo booth like we were the best priced, we looked the best, we were different from the others, or my favorite: ours was the most comfortable. In the end, I booked 4 at the show today, bringing my grand total for 2009 to 6 events. I know that doesn't seem like much, but I had set my goals for the year to be 20, so I'm a 1/4 of the way there. Maybe my goal was low. We had tons of great response today and we're really thinking we'll book a few more tomorrow. Plus there were lots of brides there planning their weddings for 2010. TWO THOUSAND TEN!!

I'm hoping this means we're in for the long-haul and I also hope it means we can grow the business, expand and be able to offer more dates and more possibilities for our clients.

I know most of you reading this blog only want to hear about running, but when you've spent 10 hours on your feet promoting your business, you feel like you've run an ultra.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Sorry for the short post today. After spending three days in bed being sick, Dave and I ran around the city of Columbus all crazy today getting ready for the Columbus Bride Show. Our photo booth is hoping to do good business at the show this weekend. If you're in Columbus, engaged, and looking for a full day of bridal fun, come to Vet's Memorial and check us out. We're WAY in the back on the right hand side of the stage.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

December was supposed to be the month where I start building up the mileage and work on muscle development. Instead I missed an 8 miler (laziness) and a 10 miler (weather) and got sick the last week of the month and did nothing. I need to get my head back in the game because the half marathon and marathon are going to come upon me pretty quickly, I'm afraid.